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5.00 out of 5

1 review for Blue to the Bone IV – Dave Stryker

5 out of 5

Rating by Dave Stryker on February 19, 2013 :

I hate to call Dave Stryker an “under-recognized”
guitarist.
I can say that this particular album might
escape the attention it deserves. True, it’s
brightly polished and perfectly pitched, and
for sheer, unadulterated, high-toned fun, you
won’t find a current jazz recording to top
it. But even though it remains among my
favorites of 2012, a lot of jazz recordings
show up every year, and the demise of jazz
radio makes it hard for listeners to stay on
top of them all. So yes, Blue To The Bone IV
may fly under the radar for too many listeners.
But I have this problem slapping that
“under-recognized” label on Stryker
himself. It always carries a whiff of whiny
defensiveness – and nothing about Stryker’s
virile, swaggery music suggests that sort of
excuse-making. And then there’s the matter
of his discography: most artists “deserving
wider recognition” don’t have 24 albums
out under their own name.
Yet despite his large and loyal following
– for his own projects as well as for the
longstanding quartet he co-leads with alto
man Steve Slagle – and despite the highly
regarded instructional method that has made
him a well-known presence among guitarists-in-
training, the fact remains: Dave Stryker
still doesn’t get all the attention he actually
deserves. He’s just that good.
Stryker has a boatload of speedy technique,
as you might expect. But rather than make
that an end unto itself, he employs it in the
service of solos that already bristle with
narrative strength, and a cogency born of
wisdom and experience – of knowing what
to leave out as well as what to include. His
improvisations would rise above the pack
even if he owned only half the chops he
displays. When he proceeds to infuse these
improvisations with heat, light, and the
various other forms of radiant energy made
possible by his sterling technique – well, that
hardly seems fair.
And then there’s the whole matter of the
blues. Stryker has always revealed a strong
shade of blue in his music; it helped make
him an invaluable member of organist Jack
McDuff’s band in the mid-80s and, after that,
of saxist Stanley Turrentine’s groups well into
the 90s. “I think with all the gigs I’ve done,
I have my own thing to say right now. I’m
not ‘just’ a blues player. And I’m certainly no
Albert King or anything like that,” he says,
referencing one of the accepted blues-guitar
gods. “But the blues – that’s deep down in
there. I’m a jazz player, but the blues was
part of my DNA even before I moved to
New York,” in 1980. (This is not a comment
often heard from a musician who grew up
in the white-bread-and-mayo environs of
Omaha, Nebraska.)
As you can guess from the title, Stryker has
found a semi-regular showcase for this facet
of his music. Blue To The Bone IV follows
three previous chapters in a series that began
in 1996, marked by the presence of kick-ass
horn sections, Hammond B-3 organ, and
tight arrangements arrangements that fulfill
Stryker’s original desire – to hybridize the
sound of the Jazz Messengers with the horn
sections used by B.B. King. But those first Blue
To The Bone albums came in a comparable
rush — three discs in a span of six years — and
IV comes after a gap of more than a decade.
So why the delay?
“Well, this has always been a project dear
to my heart, in that I love the chance to have
that horn section kicking in behind me.
There’s nothing like it. But it being a special
project, I only get to do it when certain
concert opportunities come up, or at festivals
that can afford to bring in a group this size. I
kept writing some arrangements [over the last
ten years], but the band just got put on hold.
And also, I’ve been concentrating more on
the two other groups I lead – my organ trio
with Jared Gold, and my thing with Slagle.
“What’s really cool about this album,” he
continues, “is that it combines my regular
organ trio with the horns. It’s the best of
both worlds.”
That assessment could as easily apply to
the way Stryker blends the spheres of jazz
and blues. The evidence hits you in the face
15 minutes into the album: by then, you’ve
heard his electric deep-dish twang at his
down-and-dirtiest (Blues Strut), as well his
ability to fold this the blues into a pure jazz
solo of enormous vitality and impact and
filled with note-y conviviality (Workin’). The
guitarist wrote both compositions, and they
also illustrate the range his music traverses
on this disc.
If Stryker enjoys the experience of “having
that horn section kick in,” I can only imagine
the experience of having this horn section
kick in. Freddie Hendrix dazzles on trumpet,
with searing high notes and splashy solos;
still in his early 30s, he has distinguished
himself in the Count Basie Orchestra as well
as bands led by Christian McBride, Oliver
Lake, and George Benson. SteepleChase
Records veteran Vincent Gardner (he appears
on eight previous albums, five under his own
name) realizes the trombone’s full power
and glory in the ensembles as well as in
his solo turns. And saxist Slagle, Stryker’s
musical soulmate for the better part of three
decades, pours unvarnished soul into his
buff, streetwise tone.
The “Big Foot” in another Stryker tune is
the enormous sound of baritone saxist Gary
Smulyan, the modern dean of that instrument,
who has replaced Bob Parsons in the horn
section. “I figure if you have to go out to g
says. “But Bob’s imprint is still on the records,
and he still does some of the arranging”;
in fact, he had a hand in shaping four of
the tunes on this album. As for the rhythm
section (a.k.a. the Stryker Organ Trio), savvy
listeners know Jared Gold as one of the most
energetic and captivating B-3 players on the
scene today; and young McClenty Hunter
admirably fills the sizable shoes of the late
Tony Reedus, the trio’s original drummer.
All together, they kick this album into a
higher gear from the first note. But the music’s
heart remains the jazz-and-blues, bourbon-and-
beer blend of Dave Stryker’s sound and
soul. If you’ve heard it even once before,
you’ll recognize it immediately.
Neil Tesser